No Candy This Year

The eggs had been colored

and scattered about

The baskets were hidden

the children to shout…

“Was he here Mom, was he here”

they yell from upstairs

“Come down and find out”

she says—nary a care

Their little feet rush

taking two steps at once

Wide eyes dart all over

playing their hunch

Living and dining rooms

they tear with a fever

No corner is safe

from the incursion of either

“I found it, I found it”

the bigger one said

The smaller one saddened

their heart filled with dread

“The Bunny forgot

there’s no candy this year”

From across the big room

the first start of a tear

“The Bunny never forgets”

their mother cried out

“You have to look harder

both inside and out”

As the front door was opened

the little one chimed …

“Mom, he didn’t forget

— it was here all the time”

 

(To My Grandchildren: Easter 2017)

Butterfly’s Wander

Once upon a time

the old songs were new

On prairies unplanted

invaders were few

 

Where rivers rolled onward

no ferries or towns

All riverboat minstrels

new ages impound

 

The time of the season

unmeasured refrain

And cursed belladonna

tomorrow to reign

 

As butterfly’s wander

o’er questions unasked

A dark shrouded answer

—  the future unmasks

 

(Dreamsleep: April, 2025)